Two fellowships support Professor Emily Ryo's research on immigration enforcement, access to justice
USC Gould School of Law

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Wednesday, June 24, 2020

Prof. Emily Ryo is awarded two fellowships to support her research on immigration enforcement and access to justice

By Ruby Callahan

Emily Ryo, a professor of law and sociology at USC Gould, was recently named an inaugural fellow by The Justice Collaborative Institute and an Access to Justice Scholar by The American Bar Foundation/JPB Foundation. The two fellowships will provide Ryo with varied opportunities to further her academic research into the nature and impacts of immigration enforcement and detention, and access to justice for immigrants facing deportation.

Ryo said she sees The Justice Collaborative fellowship as a chance to further her current research focused on immigration detention, and the ways that the immigration enforcement system becomes entangled with the criminal justice system.

Emily Ryo's research on immigration enforcement and detention and access to justice is supported by two recently-awarded fellowships.

“Because of these deep ties between criminal justice and immigration enforcement, efforts to dismantle the mass incarceration system must also address what is happening with immigration detention,” she says. “My hope as an inaugural fellow at the Institute is to further that goal by advancing a greater public understanding of the causes, conditions, and consequences of immigration detention.”

The American Bar Foundation/JPB Foundation fellowship will enable Ryo to continue her research on immigration courts, and the gap between the demand for and supply of legal services for immigrants facing deportation. Her research also seeks to better understand the impact of legal representation on case outcomes.

“My goal as an Access to Justice Scholar is to advance a new and broader understanding of barriers to access to justice for immigrants,” Ryo says. “Understanding whether and to what extent the impact of legal representation might be limited or amplified by the decision-maker who happens to be assigned to a case has significant policy implications for the training of immigration judges and for ensuring fair process and outcomes in immigration cases.”

The Justice Collaborative Institute was founded in 2019 to bring together top scholars around the country for research on and public engagement with justice reform. The Access to Justice Scholars Fellowship supports leading access to justice scholars in their research, provide networking opportunities, and connect junior scholars with mentorship from experienced senior scholars.

Ryo, a professor at USC Gould since 2013, received a JD from Harvard Law School and a PhD in Sociology from Stanford University.